22 – Demon Hunt (4)
“Wow. This is brutal.”
Chen looked at the completely crushed bodies of Focaros and stuck out his tongue. It wasn’t an exaggeration; this was almost like being crushed under a tank.
“And to think that little one did all this.”
Chen glanced at Lian resting inside the vehicle. Indeed, the saying “Don’t judge a person by appearances” held true in the mercenary industry.
“I think there was a similar saying in the East Continent.”
Chen recalled a phrase he had heard from Haraeng a few years ago. Something about being cautious with women, the elderly, and children?
“People live in the same way everywhere.”
Miller, who was in the midst of dismantling work, sighed as if in lament.
“Darn it. It’s ridiculously tough. Muller, can’t you switch with me?”
“You guys let one slip through.”
“…Darn it.”
“Of course, I can help.”
“Really?”
“But in return, we might need to adjust the distribution ratio a bit.”
Miller distorted his expression at Muller’s words. It was a face that said, “Well, yeah.”
“Son of a b***h. It’s so filthy that I’ll do it myself.”
“hehehehe.”
Muller laughed heartily once and then closed his eyes. It wasn’t to take a break; it was to organize his thoughts.
This was Miller’s fifth participation in a mission to subjugate Focaros. However, despite that, he had never experienced a situation like this just now.
No matter how much the number of entities increased, the recent situation was clearly unexpected.
“There’s no way only we’re in this situation.”
The possibility of only this section having an increased number of entities was low. No, it was safe to say it didn’t exist at all.
“Even if it’s the worst, dozens must have died.”
Even veteran Miller, without Lian’s help, wasn’t confident he would survive the recent situation.
“The officials in Turas may be indifferent to the deaths of others, but they haven’t fallen to the level of neglecting their roles.”
The viewers might not have known about this.
Turas’s officials might be insensitive to the deaths of others, but that didn’t mean they had degraded to the point of neglecting their duties.
If that’s the case, the current situation is something even the officials couldn’t have predicted.
“Chen. Bring out the drone.”
“…Suddenly?”
“We need to know the situation in other sectors.”
Only then did Chen, understanding Miller’s intention, abruptly stop.
“Damn.”
The sector they were currently in was Sector 27. If there were issues in Sectors 26 or 28 nearby…
There was an immediate risk of being surrounded.
Chen hurriedly headed towards the vehicle.
“Damn. Where did I put it?”
While rummaging through the cargo indiscriminately, the drone approached Chen.
“Here it is.”
It was Ryan.
“…Were you listening?”
“I wasn’t even asleep in the first place.”
Chen nodded, sending the drone soaring into the sky. In an instant, the drone ascended to the high airspace. Soon, the drone’s perspective started transmitting to the control screen.
“Where are you heading?”
“Sector 26. The Kipros Mercenaries, a group of fairly skilled individuals, have been assigned there.”
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to check Sector 28 first?”
“There’s no use in freelancers being alive. It’s better to examine the life and death of those Kipros guys.”
Chen couldn’t continue speaking.
Gulp.
A landscape engulfed entirely. Nearby, scattered corpses of Focarlos soldiers, strewn about carelessly.
And.
Beneath the shattered wreckage of vehicles, the remains of familiar mercenary faces were scattered.
Kugugugugugugu…
Even from high above the sky, there was a sense of something moving below the ground. Chen realized immediately what had happened in the adjacent sector.
“It’s a behemoth.”
“…Chen, is that for real?”
“Come and see. That’s undoubtedly… a behemoth.”
Chen swallowed dryly, speaking with a strained expression.
“It’s heading our way.”
Muller, realizing the severity of the situation, spoke up.
“Miler.”
“Dismantling’s done. Are we good to go?”
“We depart immediately.”
As just felt moments ago, their ability to handle emergencies was formidable.
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Though they were quite headstrong, when needed, they trusted and followed Muller for his leadership skills.
Inside the speeding vehicle, Lian spoke up.
“The behemoth wasn’t our target for extermination, was it?”
Small-sized, ten in number, or one large-sized species. The conditions for completing the extermination were clearly stated.
“Although it may be accurate, to capture that monster, at least ten teams should gather.”
Ten teams gathering for one. Lian immediately grasped Muller’s intention.
‘Is it implying inefficiency before measuring strength?’
To complete all requests, each team must capture ten large-sized species. Instead of that, it would be better to form teams, each handling the small-sized ones, and efficiently surpass the allocated quota.
“Even if you handle more than the assigned amount, there won’t be any additional payment. There’s no need to push yourself. Just keep going as is, handle those who come out after being separated from the group to fulfill the quota.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
“hehehe. Mercenaries are originally this kind of people.”
Lian nodded in agreement. The impulse to experience the expansion of the sensation he briefly felt earlier arose, but that was it. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
‘No need to be impatient.’
Having seen it once, he could eventually reach it. Growth achieved in urgent situations. For now, the driving force of growth and the knowledge of its outcome were sufficient.
Lian gazed at the dust on the horizon, in the direction of the large-sized species.
“If you leave it like that, won’t problems arise eventually?”
“That’s the situation with government officials.”
Well, mercenaries who would jump at the opportunity with a ten million sell reward raised wouldn’t double.
A society where money is valued more than life. Turas was such a city.
Therefore…
‘It won’t end so easily.’
Lian stared out the window with a calm gaze. In the direction where other sections were located, jeeps were approaching, kicking up dust.
Vehicles that were modified to an excessive extent, with spear guns mounted on the top, ordinary mercenaries would find it excessive to board such vehicles.
Surely they didn’t approach with pure intentions.
“Miller! Three vehicles up ahead! Modified vehicles!”
Before Miller finished speaking, the vehicle across from them unleashed a hail of bullets.
Dudududududu!
Bullets struck the chassis, producing a loud noise.
“Damn it! Crazy bastards!”
Chen hurriedly swerved the vehicle. Although the chassis was armored, it was obvious that it wouldn’t hold up for long against such a large machine gun.
Beyond the rearview mirror, Chen’s gaze met Lian’s, who spoke up.
“They must be aiming for the nuclear warheads.”
“…What?”
“We hunted down seven Fokalos. Considering the level of the mercenaries assigned to other sectors, we probably obtained around five warheads at best.”
The mercenaries who encountered the formidable group would have died, while those who faced a mediocre force would have survived.
But even so, the number would be one and a half times larger than usual…
“You must have judged that it would be more efficient to attack fellow mercenaries than the horde of monsters.”
Lian nodded slowly in response to Miller’s answer.
In a society where money was more important than anything else, among the mercenaries whose lives had become a mess, there were surely people who valued immediate money over their future reputation.
Furthermore, being on the outskirts of the city would make it easy to hide evidence.
“Mercenaries are the same no matter the world.”
Lian looked at the driver’s seat and spoke.
“Chen, do you have a rifle?”
“Under the right floor!”
Chen didn’t question it. Whether it was because of the urgent situation or because he understood Lian’s intentions.
Lian smirked and grabbed the rifle. Familiar grip. This is the taste.
“I’ll compensate later.”
Crack!
Without waiting for Muller’s response, Lian smashed the window with the butt of the rifle. The bulletproof role was being fulfilled, but because it was shattered into pieces, it couldn’t provide any visibility.
In that case, breaking it was better.
“Three drivers. One must have died during the suppression.”
Thud!
Without hesitation, Lian pulled the trigger. Killing or subduing. He didn’t even consider which one to choose. If the opponent showed hostility towards them, Lian knew from his previous life as a mercenary that they must respond in the same way.
Twisting the flow of magic, imbuing it in the bullets. No matter how bulletproof, there would be no way to withstand bullets enveloped in magic.
Crack!
As Lian predicted, the man sitting in the driver’s seat on the opposite side had his head pierced.
Kwoooooong!
At the same time, the jeep that had risen into the air crashed onto the ground. Chen shouted in excitement at the sight.
“It’s amazing!”
“It wasn’t Lian.”
“Huh?”
Muller spoke with a trembling voice. Unless they hit the tires, it was impossible for the jeep to rise like that from the ground.
Unless there was an explosion-like shock from underneath the vehicle.